Who is Pop Apling from Short Story Masterpieces and what is their importance?

Pop Apling appears in the story, Open Winter. He is described as an older man, who is nearly sixty-years-old. Pop has been a rancher for most of his life. He is responsible and proud of his accomplishments. Over the course of the story, he is faced with obstacles that he could have simply walked away from. Apling. however, chooses to push forward, never allowing himself to be beat.